Paris-based Carbonfact, a carbon management software tailored for the fashion industry, has successfully raised $15 million (approximately €13.98 million) in a Series A funding round, the company announced today.
Leading the investment is Alven, a Paris-based venture capital firm and existing investor in Carbonfact. Joining them is Headline, a global venture capital firm, which is also stepping in as a fresh investor and securing a seat on Carbonfact’s board. Additionally, Y Combinator, another existing investor, participated in this round.
Jonathan Userovici, General Partner at Headline, expressed the significance of Carbonfact’s platform within the fashion industry, stating, “Carbonfact is the only platform that offers a product deep enough to satisfy today’s increasingly complex supply chains.”
The fashion industry, with a global worth of $1.9 trillion, faces significant environmental challenges, emitting some of the highest amounts of emissions for each dollar spent. Recognizing this, Carbonfact aims to tackle the industry’s carbon footprint, particularly as it contributes up to 10% of the world’s yearly carbon emissions, surpassing the combined emissions from international flights and maritime shipping.
Founded in 2021, Carbonfact’s mission is to provide comprehensive solutions for fashion companies to measure, cut, and report emissions, aligning with upcoming regulations like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
Marc Laurent, Co-founder and CEO of Carbonfact, highlighted the necessity for such a platform, stating, “After meeting with hundreds of textile brands and suppliers, we realized that collecting data and reporting on all product and supply-chain information is a complex task that requires more comprehensive data management than spreadsheets allow.”
The complexity of measuring carbon emissions in the fashion industry is a significant challenge, with regulations constantly evolving and requiring expert understanding. Carbonfact addresses this by automating the process, connecting with company IT systems to streamline data collection, analysis, and reporting using machine learning.
Bartosz Jakubowski, Partner at Alven, emphasized their confidence in Carbonfact’s leadership position within the industry, stating, “We strongly believe the future is about vertical and product-centric Carbon Management Platforms, and we were impressed by the leadership position that Carbonfact has been able to take on the fashion industry.”
Looking ahead, Carbonfact will focus on assisting textile retailers and manufacturers in measuring and planning emission reduction strategies to comply with upcoming regulations. The company also plans to expand its global onboarding teams to further support its growing clientele.
Carbonfact’s innovative approach to carbon management in the fashion industry has already empowered over 150 brands and suppliers to measure, report, and reduce their emissions without manual intervention.